One of the Best-Looking Dive Watches of 2025 Comes from an Unexpected Brand

If you’re going to give a watch a silly name, it had better have a serious look.

The Duck is a brilliant name for a dive watch. It is short, easy to remember, and invokes the nimble aquatic waterfowl. However, ducks also have plenty of silly connotations, and previous iterations of Shinola’s dive watch played into them with a slightly cartoonish look.

Fortunately, The Duck got an extensive makeover just in time for summer 2025 and is now in the conversation for best-looking new dive watch of the year.

This leveling-up is best exemplified by the replacement of the cartoon rubber ducky logo on the dial of previous references with an etching of a real duck on the case back.

Shinola took inspiration from 1970s skin-diver watches that were designed to be light on the wrist, sleek in the water and attractive on land. The case has slimmed down to 40mm with a flattened-out, angular shape, and the dial received a full retro redesign.

Shinola has grown from a plucky startup making watches and leather goods to a genuine household name in both industries. The Runwell and Canfield collections are well-known and respected affordable, everyday watches.

Being native to Detroit, the watchmaker easily established itself in the racing chronograph space. But despite multiple attempts, no Shinola dive watch has stood out in the crowded niche.

Earlier versions of The Duck suffered from too many rounded-off surfaces, bubbly dial markings and cheap-looking bracelets. Shinola’s other diver line, The Monster, has a classic look but — as the name implies — is just too big at over 43mm.

With its inspired new look, The Duck should validate the Motor City brand as a contender in aquatic sports watches. At launch, there are four color options, but the one that is a real head-turner features a black dial with colorful detailing and a blue strap.

A brushed steel case, black bezel and black dial create a versatile and respectable base. What makes the watch is the color selections, with pink, two different light greens and yellow appearing in just the right measure to create flavor without overpowering the palette.

Shinola downsized The Duck from 42mm to 40mm and flattened out the silhouette. The formerly curvy bezel and glass are now flat with a top-hat shape, and the screw-down crown is smaller.

The thick, smooth, expandable rubber strap on previous models has been replaced with a much more stylish perforated tropical strap. The top has a diamond weave texture, while the underside has vent cuts that allow the skin underneath to breathe.

One thing that has not changed about The Duck is the dependable Argonite caliber 715 quartz movement, which is assembled by Shinola in Detroit using Swiss components and is based on the Swiss-made Ronda 715 quartz movement.

The Duck is a departure from Shinola’s typical design language, but by leaning on a specific genre of vintage watches, the brand created one of its best-looking designs.

Delicately applying bold colors in just the right measure, rather than leaning on them as the line had previously, is the masterstroke that makes this Duck a truly great dive watch.

The Duck is available now from Shinola and authorized dealers for $550. In addition to the multicolor design highlighted above, it comes with a matching dial and strap in blue, black and yellow.

About the Author: Brad Lanphear is an associate editor at Gear Patrol covering watches and style. Before joining the publication, he previously wrote for Heddels and Men’s Health. Now, he’s on a never-ending quest to find the perfect pair of Japanese denim.

Affordable Watches, Dive Watches, Quartz Watches